Meiyappan, Kundra indulged in betting: Supreme Court

New Delhi: N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan and Raj Kundra were indulging in betting in IPL matches, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while holding them as "team officials" of their respective IPL teams Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR).

"The three-member committee headed Justice Mukul Mudgal has correctly appreciated the facts as emerging from the documents and the depositions of witnesses recorded by it and rightly come to the conclusion that Gurunath Meiyappan was a team official of CSK," a bench headed by Justice TS Thakur said.

"That is so especially when India Cements Ltd who owns the team made a candid admission before us that Meiyappan was indeed a team official within the meaning of that expression under the rules. We, therefore, see no...reason, for us to disagree or reverse the finding recorded by the Probe Committee on that aspect," the bench, also comprising Jutice FMI Khalifulla, said.

The apex court also said that probe committee has, on the basis of the material available to it, held that Meiyappan was indulging in betting and the findings did not call for interference.

"We make it clear that given the nature of the proceedings entrusted to the Probe Committee and the standard of proof applicable to the same, we see no reason to disagree with the conclusion of the Probe Committee that Gurunath Meiyappan was indeed indulging in betting.

"The material assembled in course of the investigation by the Probe Committee provides a reasonably safe basis for holding that the accusations made against Meiyappan stood established on a preponderance of probabilities," the bench said.

Regarding RR's co-owner Kundra, the bench said that probe panel, in its February 9, 2014 report, had referred to the statement of Kundra's business partner Umesh Goenka in which he had stated that Kundra used to indulge in betting in IPL matches through him.

"So long as Mudgal Committee has conducted proceedings in consonance with the principles of natural justice, the Committee's finding that Kundra was a team official of RR and that he had indulged in betting cannot be faulted," the bench added.

The bench further said, "The Committee has on the basis of further investigation and enquiry come to the conclusion that Kundra was a 'team official', a 'player support personnel' and 'participant' within the meaning of the relevant rules and that he had indulged in betting."

The apex court said it will concede to Meiyappan's "right to silence" in view of the pendency of the prosecution launched against him in a court at Mumbai for betting.

It held that as far as Kundra is concerned, his part ownership and accreditation as a team official of RR was not disputed before it.

The bench also dismissed the submission of Kundra's counsel that the report submitted by the probe committee was a preliminary report saying, "it is wrong to suggest that the report of such a high powered probe committee could be trivialised by treating it as a preliminary investigation".

It said the purpose behind setting up of the probe panel was to make the entire process of investigation and enquiry into the allegations credible.

"The Probe Committee headed by a former Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana was never intended to conduct a preliminary investigation," it said while appreciating the work done by the committee.

It brushed aside the contention of Kundra that he was not issued notice by the Mudgal Committee saying that he was heard by the panel and thus the "issue of notice is of little consequence".

"The Probe Committee's findings in our opinion comply with all the basic requirements of fairness and reasonableness and, therefore, call for no interference...," it said.

The court further held that once Meiyappan and Kundra are accepted as team officials, their misconduct could result in imposition of one or more of the sanctions stipulated under Rule 6.4 of IPL Operational Rules.

"It is noteworthy that those sanctions are not limited to Meiyappan and Kundra alone but may extend to suspension of the team or the franchisee from the league also," the bench said.

The apex court also made it clear that the BCCI-IPL was competent to direct the termination of the franchise agreement executed between BCCI and the franchisees.